Thursday, February 21, 2008

It's what has not happened in most Democratic debates of late; nonetheless, they'll tell you what's really going on outside the halls of the Obama-Clinton sparring match in Austin:

The KatrinaRitaVille Express may sound like the latest funky South Austin happy hour hangout—and most of those are on wheels, too—but this old FEMA trailer from Mississippi isn’t here for the party. Derrick Evans has been touring his trailer around the country to raise awareness for the slew of problems facing victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the stagnation that’s taken hold in recovery efforts.

He’s here tonight with more than 40 people affected by the storms. They came by bus to draw attention to the storm recovery. So far candidates have said little about Hurricane Katrina in debates, and Evans says neither Clinton nor Obama have inspired much hope for his cause. “I wouldn’t say that any of them have sufficiently demonstrated a grasp of the depth of this regional crisis,” Evans says.

Neither Obama nor Clinton can afford to grasp any crisis outside of the crisis of superdelegates. It's why the struggle for justice and defending the welfare of ordinary Americans goes on with or without the Democrats.